After hearing that I spent a few days at a comics and medicine conference, an ordinarily taciturn patient with autism spectrum disorder revealed that he enjoyed Japanese manga comics. It was unexpected to see him smile or show such enthusiasm, although I wondered if manga’s many sexually exploitative themes kindled his intrigue. Discussing comics in session seemed like a good way to open closed doors and circumvent his limited communications skills.

A transgendered patient seemed equally thrilled to tell me of her affection for artist/author Alison Bechdel. In one day, I felt confident that I had stumbled upon an unexplored but promising clinical tool. A few mental health–related graphic novels left in the waiting room can accomplish a lot, especially when dwindling appointment times leave less and less time for psychotherapy.

ONI HARTSTEIN: I think the biggest lesson is that we all know each other much better than in the first year. The five-year point is when the staff really starts to gel with events, and that’s exactly what happened here. The quality of the event is higher than ever.

§ Huh well how do you like that: Marvel Has No Plans To Release Any Comics Based On ‘Big Hero 6’. This is the Disney animated movie based on Marvel Comics, but the subject matter has been thoroughly transformed. Straight out Disney kiddie comics are still a tough sell in the continental United States. And look at those characters. Who could possibly make comics about this gang!

Yup. #5 worldwide, bigger box office than Iron Man 3, and there’s only an e-book GN. With almost no publicity.

Marvel isn’t even reprinting the original comics.

Marvel… do yourselves a favor…
Take all of your young reader comics (Disney, Muppets, Marvel Age, Kingdom Comics…) and let Disney Italy produce everything. You’ve done this already with the Muppet reprint magazines from 2013.

Let there be a Disney XD monthly magazine.
Sure, make it a digital magazine, with paper copies only available by subscription. But really… this is a no-brainer.

I mean… if Germany can sell 150,000 copies of Micky Maus every week to 658.000 readers in a market of 100 million German-speakers, why can’t Disney/Marvel sell an English Disney comic to some 1.5 BILLION English-speakers?
HELL… Egmont/Ehapa, the German Disney publisher, published an ENGLISH edition for German school kids to learn English!!!